Does Public Debt Crowd-Out Public Investment In East Africa Community?

Using an empirical model linking public debt to public investment, this study uses annual data from 1970-2010 and employs panel fixed-effects approach to estimate the effect of external and public debt, as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), on public investment in East Africa Community (EAC). Levin-Lin-Chu test (LLC) and Engle-Granger approach were used to investigate the properties of the data with respect to Unit roots and Cointegration respectively. The Hausman specification test was used to select the panel fixed-effects model. The findings suggest that public debt negatively affects Public investments in EAC and that higher debt service crowds-out public sector spending.